James Library offers literature class

People often reflect on school and think that it might be fun if it had less pressure and the students were a little more mature. That way, only the ones who wanted to be there would be there.

Mark Burridge

People often reflect on school and think that it might be fun if it had less pressure and the students were a little more mature. That way, only the ones who wanted to be there would be there.

The James Library will offer a literature class for adults taught by Meredith Atkinson, retired English department head at Norwell High School.

“The focus of the class will be to analyze and look deeply into the message [of literature],” Atkinson said. “We will get from the message to the meaning.”

Atkinson said every now and then a parent would tell her how jealous he or she was of the kids.

“Parents would say, ‘I wish I could take this class,’” she said. “They were very positive about what was going on in the class.”

So, after having retired for two years, Atkinson decided it was time to get back into teaching.

“She approached us,” Caroline Chapin, James Library director, said. “She thought it would be a perfect venue for such a class.”

Chapin said the James has two book clubs but nothing as in-depth as the class.

Although Atinson said she already knows exactly what she is going to do the first day, she hasn’t set up a syllabus for the length of the class. She has tried to keep it looser, deciding whether to move into short stories or poetry or books, depending on what the class wants to do.

“I will talk to the people who come and find out where they want to go,” she said. “It’s going to be rewarding. I’m going to show how to look more deeply [into the works].”

Atkinson said students shouldn’t be worried about lots of homework; it will be less structured than a high school course, more about actually looking at the book. The majority of homework will be to read the selection.
However, she is very open to ideas.

“I really would like to take signals from the class,” she said.

Although the class is looser than a high school class, Atkinson said it will be much more directed than a book club. Mainly, she wants to help people appreciate good writing rather than just enjoy a story.

“Sometimes people don’t like the meaning,” she said. “It might be fun to show them it is still well written.”

The class will explore the imagery, diction, syntax and tone before explaining the main idea of a story. She said there won’t be tests, quizzes or papers.

The class is bi-weekly and begins Thursday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. and ends Dec. 13. To register for the class or for more information, contact Meredith Atkinson at atkinson51@verizon.net.